Only Time Will Show
by Draconian Elflord
Summary: I know, I know, another Vegeta/Bulma fic. It's about the beginning of their relationship and the first year of thier parenthood. Also covers underlying themes of their relationship. My first DBZ fic, so R and R, but please, don't be cruel.


Marks of Change  
  
Bulma: " Shouldn't we put the disclaimer in first?" Elflord: " Okay, I am sick and tired of everyone reminding me about the stupid disclaimer! I can remember it on my own!" Bulma: "Jeez, I'm sorry! What's your problem?" Vegeta: " Maybe she doesn't like stupid people telling her how to write her story!" Bulma: *whacks Vegeta in the head with the purse*. Vegeta: "Ow! Why you . . . "  
  
While I get these two "lovebirds" back under control, I may as well say the disclaimer for real. Don't own DBZ, like to write fanfics, but don't own DBZ. And have we already established the point that I don't own DBZ? Okay, now that we've got that settled, on with my fanfic. * * *  
  
The room was unusually quiet that night. Bulma knew it was ridiculous, but it was almost as though the night knew that she was awake; awake pondering all the questions she had about her new life. It wasn't easy for her to adjust to changes. Everyone always said "Bulma, don't you ever change." Yes, that's fine for a while. But what about when life demands change? What if you change because you consciously choose to? And, most importantly, what if someone in your life needs you to change?  
  
A slow, soft sigh emitted from her throat. It always seemed as though those probing thoughts came to her at night. Thoughts with so many aspects that there was no way to answer them in just one hour, or even an entire night. Bulma usually loved those kinds of thoughts. It sometimes helped her to fall asleep. But this one had no answer, and she simply drifted through the night, carried by these musings.  
  
Vegeta was fast asleep, sleeping on his side, his body curled up and his strong, tanned arms wrapped around her, holding her close to him. Bulma listened to the rhythm of his breath. His breathing was very easy, so it was almost hard to hear. But if you listened close enough, you could just make out a faint hum: a low, constant sound. Inhale . . . Exhale . . . Inhale . . . Exhale . . . Inhale again . . . it was so peaceful. It hadn't always been like that.  
  
For she could remember how it had been when they newlyweds. Vegeta . . . he had had such a horrible life up until then. Even though all of his past was gone, out of his life, he was still haunted by the memories, the guilt, the nightmares. Hardly a night had gone by that he did not wake from a nightmare at least once. In the middle of the night, he would start jabbering frantically in a language unknown to her of which she could only make out one word. "Frieza." This word would pop up again and again. Yes, that name would haunt all of them forever. And night after night, that name, that image, that memory had crept into Vegeta's mind, haunting him, chasing him, never giving him peace. But that was no more. He did not speak the name of Frieza in the middle of the night any more.  
  
Bulma gave another sigh. Vegeta had changed and so had she. In such a short time, they had grown to love each other. Now they were together, and they had the ring to prove it. That ring was a symbol of eternal love. But would that love really last forever?  
  
She couldn't help but laugh when she remembered how she had been on that night after their wedding. She had been so afraid, and it wasn't hard to figure out why. Everyone knows what happens after on a wedding night. But Bulma had never even gotten close to a man's bed, not even considering.oh, she'd been deathly afraid! Ever since she was a child, sex had been an out-of-bounds subject. For most of her adult life, she had always imagined it as barbaric, feral, and insane: as something to be feared.  
  
But it was not like that at all. It was the most beautiful, glorious expression of emotion she had experienced in her entire life. She had been touched on all levels of her being: spiritually, physically, emotionally, and even mentally. From that day forward, Bulma promised herself that she would never have cause to fear Vegeta.  
  
Now, nearly a year later, they were facing a new change.  
  
Bulma stroked her bulging stomach, caressing the weight inside that she had come to know during the last four months. It was still hard for her to believe that she was pregnant, and in just a few short months would be a mother. That was one change she had not expected to face so soon.  
  
Vegeta was eager to become a father. Bulma wasn't so sure about herself.  
  
It was an inevitable paradox as far as she was concerned. On one hand, she was very happy about the pregnancy. She had dreamed of having children of her own for many years. But on the other hand, she could not help but feel anxious about a baby. They had only been married for one year. Were they really ready to have a baby?  
  
She sat up slowly, moving Vegeta's arms gently off of her. For a moment, his breath broke its steady rhythm, and then he fell asleep again.  
  
Trying not to wake him again, she slipped out of bed carefully and landed silently on the carpet in her bare feet. She was instantly aware of the chill in the room, and groped for her robe in the dark until she found it on the floor next to the bed.  
  
Without knowing what she was doing, she crept quietly out of the bedroom and started down the stairs. In the dark, the stairs were hard to see, and she was afraid she might trip. Through the dimness, she could just make out the front door.  
  
Once outside, Bulma noticed the chill even more. The wind cut through her and blew her hair in all directions. It looked as though winter might come early this year. She pulled the robe tighter around her.  
  
Above her, the stars were clear and numerous. Bulma could not help but look up. Even as a child, she had been interested in the stars. Unlike most things in her life, the stars were constant. Their cycles through the sky were like clockwork, year after year, night after night; it was like a giant timepiece. She already knew the names of some of the stars and constellations. But there were others that she did not know, great clusters of mysterious celestial lights. All of them were systems, each one a star. Vegeta had been born somewhere out there, on a mysterious planet of whose namesake he bore.  
  
Out there in the universe, there were planets of untold number. How many planets had intelligent life on them? There might be millions, maybe even billions. Could anyone count the stars?  
  
All over the universe, stars were being born at this very moment. Stars were also dying at this very moment. Systems were being created and dissipated. Worlds were being discovered and lost. And so it would continue for the rest of time.  
  
For the first time in her life, Bulma was not frightened of change. Change was the law of the universe, the dance of the cosmos. Everything changed. And now, it was time for her to accept change in herself.  
  
In her mind, Bulma reviewed all that she had been through in her relationship with Vegeta. Falling in love . . .getting married . . . awakening . . . becoming pregnant . . . all of these events were marks of change. Now, they were approaching a new one.  
  
And she would have it no other way. 


End file.
